Name: Salmis of Partridges, a LA Ferigord
Ingredients: 2 partridges; ½ cup French white wine; ½ cup good consomme; 1 tablespoon Espagnole sauce; 1 small piece anchovy butter; juice of ½ lemon; 12 small heart-shaped croutons; butter for frying; purée of truffles

Why it works: Sauce and anchovy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Salmis of Partridges, a LA Ferigord

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the partridges

Prepare the partridges as directed.
Chop the trimmings to make the sauce.

Make the croutons

Cut out 12 small heart-shaped croutons from bread, about ¼ inch thick.
Make an incision around the inside edges of the croutons.
Fry the croutons in butter.
Empty the croutons.
Fill the cavities with purée of truffles.

Assemble and serve

Warm the salmis with a little of the sauce.
Dish it up to form a well in the center.
Place 6 croutons around the top.
Fill the center with small quenelles of partridges.
Pour the sauce over the salmis.
Garnish the base with the remaining croutons and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Sauce + anchovytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,057 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
White wine + buttertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,083 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,832 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
Butter + truffletop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,209 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,697 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Partridges: Provide the main meat, cooked and shaped into small quenelles for the centre of the dish.
French white wine: Adds acidity and aromatic depth to the sauce, balancing the rich game flavour.
Consomme: Supplies a clear, savoury liquid base that moistens and flavours the sauce.
Espagnole sauce: Thickens the sauce and adds body and a deep, roasted savoury flavour.
Purée of truffles: Contributes a concentrated earthy aroma and luxurious flavour to the croutons.

The step that matters

Make an incision around the inside edges of the croutons. Cutting too deep or through the base leaves no sealed cavity to hold the truffle purée, while a shallow cut prevents an even hollow. The cavity must stay intact through frying so the filling holds its shape.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.